Keeper Of The Flames
by SakuraPetal91
Summary: Natsu Dragneel is a normal teenager, living alone with his cat Happy. But one day, what seemed to be only a nightmare came true and twisted his life. Will Natsu be able to hide his new life from the world, and will his friends put their own lives at stake to find out? / Fairy Tail AU. Rated T for blood.


_**Seems like I updated sooner than I myself thought, huh?**_

_**I hope you'll like this brand new version of the story 'Keeper Of The Flames'**_**_!_**

**_Rated T for blood and violence. Don't let yourself be fooled by the introduction!_**

**_Fairy Tail AU - not quite modern-day AU_**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p>A raven-haired boy was walking home after school. It was a hot summer day, and he was eating a delicious ice cream - his favourite -, enjoying the peace and the silence surrounding him...<p>

"Oi, snow cone! Wait for me!"

He sighed as he ignored the rosy-haired boy that kept calling him by many, _many_ nicknames. Weird and embarrassing nicknames.

"Ice Princess, ya' hearin' me? **Helloooo~**"

"_**SHUT UP AND LET ME ENJOY THIS PIECE OF HEAVEN IN SILENCE YOU IDIOT!**_", the brunet yelled.

"Geez Gray, stop making such a fuss about one simple ice cream, it's not such a big deal", the pink-haired boy shook his head.

The brunet's eye twitched.

"No big deal, you say?... _**THIS IS GOD'S ICE CANDY!**_ No wonder I'm your only friend, you're an ice cream-offender!"

The pinkette chuckled.

"Well, it's **your** fault for tolerating me since first grade."

"Tch, when are ya' gonna learn your lesson, you hothead..."

The two boys kept talking about trivial things and teasing each other with various nicknames.

The raven-haired ice cream lover was Gray Fullbuster. Around 18 years old. Natsu Dragneel's best friend and childhood friend, even though he denied it. Obsessed with ice cream and loving winter and everything cold. Had average grades. Mostly your average teenager, excluding his awkward love for cold weather.

The rosy-haired boy was Natsu Dragneel. Same age as Gray. Orphan. Obsessed with dragons. Has an undeniable love for anything super spicy, and not affected in any way at all by it. He had no friends excluding Gray and his (awkwardly blue) cat Happy. Seemed like a happy-go-lucky teenager and had a part-time job as a floor cleaner at a local market.

Natsu and Gray were neighbors, so they spended lots of time together when they were kids. Now was not the same, since Natsu had to go to work every single day (excepting Sunday, that was his free day). And now was Friday.

"See ya' later, squinty eyes!"

"Bye, droopy eyes!"

They both entered in their own houses and locked themselves inside.

Natsu's cat, Happy, jumped in his owner's arms, purring and meowing affectionately. Natsu rubbed his own nose on Happy's.

"Hey buddy! How ya' doin'? Did ya' eat all your food? Did ya' wreck anything today?", Natsu spoke lovingly to his cat.

Happy meowed and jumped down from Natsu's arms. Natsu giggled lightly, and started his daily after-school routine: eat, take a nap, and go to work.

_**~an hour later~**_

"Happy~", Natsu called from the kitchen in a sing-song voice. "I have a fish for a good kitty~"

Happy meowed in delight from Natsu's bedroom and rushed to the kitchen to get his reward. He jumped and quickly grabbed the fish, then retreated to his own place.

"Geez, it's like you're flying sometimes", Natsu chuckled. "Anyways, I'm going to sleep! Don't wreck the house while I'm asleep!"

Happy meowed disapprovingly while munching on the fish.

Natsu walked to his bedroom and let himself fall on the bed. He turned to face the ceiling.

'_I'm not sleepy..._', he mentally groaned and started to turn from side to side.

When he started drifting into sleep, he heard a painful scream and shot awake.

"What the heck was that!?"

Another scream followed. And another one, and another one...

Natsu jumped out of his bed and rushed outside. As soon as he got there, the screams increased.

"Who's there?"

His only response were other screams. He followed the noise to his backyard, and saw a girl struggling on the grass. Her long, white hair and her pale face were smirched with blood. Her legs were dislocated, and her skin was burned.

Natsu shivered at the sight.

"H-Hey, are you okay?"

Natsu slowly approached to aid the girl. But as soon as he neared her, her face distorted into the one of a monster and roared at him.

Natsu backed away quickly, scared by the sudden change. The ground underneath him burned and he fell into an endless pit.

Natsu kept falling. Around him were ghostly figures standing still, watching surprised at the boy. After a while, he finally hit the 'ground' with a loud thump.

He got up, rubbing his head, groaning. Natsu looked at what was supposed to be 'the ground'. It consisted of flames that strangely didn't burn him. The weird girl was also nowhere to be found.

Natsu began wandering around. Everything around him, excepting the 'ground', was pitch black. There were no living beings or objects around, and all he could do for now was to keep walking.

Again, a scream was heard in the distance. Natsu rushed in that direction, until he could see a faint red light. The more he approached it, the more the screams got louder and louder, until Natsu stopped running to cover his ears from the screeching sound.

He was now facing a huge fire, bright red, and the same girl burning within it.

_"P-Please...** HELP!**"_, she screamed.

Natsu looked helplessly at the girl, slowly approaching.

_"P-P-Please..."_, she tried to say, but was cut off by another ear-blowing scream.

"How?", Natsu yelled to cover the noise. "I-I want to help you, I really do, but I don't know how!"

The flames suddenly transferred to Natsu, slowly burning his skin. He started screaming in pain, feeling his body go numb as the fire that was once killing the girl was now covering him.

The burned girl fell on the 'ground', panting. She looked at Natsu, who was writhing in pain, and softly smiled.

"Thank you... Master...", she murmured before she collapsed.

"**STOP!**"

Natsu shot awake, sitting straight in his bed. He was sweating buckets. He analyzed his surroundings and sighed in relief.

"...It was only a dream...", he murmured to himself, ruffling his rosy locks. "But it still hurts, kinda..."

He looked at the clock.

"**CRAP!** I gotta go to work!"

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><p><em><strong>The poor girl's monstrous face, I got it from one of my nightmares that I barely remember. I terrorized poor Natsu, huh?<strong>_

_**I hope you liked it. I'll try to update soon.**_


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